Book review by Paul Daley

Book tackles a disturbing subject

The Lowell Sun
"Reprinted with permission of the Lowell (Ma.) Sun"

By PAUL DALEY, Sun Horse Racing Columnist

Yesterday, the “Road to the Triple Crown” continued, as the country's most promising three-year-olds ran to glory in the Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial and Illinois Derby. For them, the sky is still the limit.
But what of the other side of the Sport of Kings, where champions such as Exceller and Ferdinand, among 50,000 horses yearly, are slaughtered so that people, mostly Europeans and Asians, can enjoy a meal?
When we spend a fine summer day at Saratoga or Del Mar, the exportation and slaughter of more than three million American horses (in the last two decades) by foreign-owned plants in Texas and Illinois doesn't even register on the radar screen.

Maybe now it will.

Eclipse Award-winning racing author Bill Heller has just penned his 18th -- and most important -- work, “After the Finish Line: The Race to End Horse Slaughter in America.”

In his landmark effort, which one hopes will be a wakeup call to all horse lovers in the United States, Heller not only chronicles the heinous, callous disregard shown so many gallant friends once their usefulness has dissipated, but also provides hope in the stories of caregivers from over 250 organizations in the U.S.
These latter people are dedicated to the compassionate treatment of a species which not only helped to shape our country, but one which places unconditional trust in their caregivers until shown otherwise.

In Heller's well-researched chronicle (Thoroughbred Times Books, Bow Tie Press, 184 pages, $16.95) you'll feel the emotional bonds between horses and humans through the stories of such as Jo Anne Normile (CANTER), Susan Wagner (Equine Associates), Peter and Mary Gregory (Retirement Home for Horses), former Boston Globe staffer Michael Blowen (Old Friends), Gina Brown (Spring Hill Horse Rescue), and so many more heartwarming stories which enable such a depressing topic to actually read as uplifting.

One section of Heller's book which hopefully will lead each reader to indignation -- followed by action -- is the section in which we learn that a bill to prevent the slaughter of horses for human consumption (H.R. 503) has effectively been held up since February of 2003 in the House of Representatives Agricultural Committee by Chairman Robert Goodlatte of Virginia.

Even though his own constituency supports the bill by an overwhelming 74-percent margin, Texas interests helped him get the Committee Chairmanship, and he has caved in to the lobbying efforts of several groups who argue that without these plants for “euthanasia,” horses would be discarded randomly and face starvation and neglect.

Heller counters this argument, stating, “Where are all the stories about neglected and abandoned horses? And why has the number of abused horses diminished in California after the slaughter of horses was banned in 1998?”

The American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act Bill, sponsored by Rep. John Sweeney of New York, already has 220 co-sponsors in the House. Only 218 votes are needed to pass the 435-member House. A similar bill is before the Senate.

If you are truly concerned about this deplorable situation in our country, please write Rep. Robert Goodlatte (Va.) about your displeasure and urge him to let the bill see the light of day. His office address is 2240 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington D.C., 20515. The telephone number is 202-225-5431.

In a nutshell, here are both sides of the story, as told by Heller:

The first excerpt is from Gina Brown of Brandon, Vt., and Spring Hill Horse rescue, describing a Winnipeg, Manitoba, sale she attended to purchase discarded foals of mares whose urine was used for female hormone therapy. “There were hundreds and hundreds of baby horses everywhere I looked. They were so frantic and scared. Their cries were loud, and at one point I had to cover my ears. They had been abruptly weaned from their moms just hours before and a lot of them attempted to nurse off each other. I felt numb as I walked around the pens in disbelief.” Brown was able to buy 32 foals and one pony.

Contrast that Winnepeg scene with Peter and Mary Gregory's Retirement Home For Horses at their Mill Creek Farm near Gainesville, Fla., present home to 124 horses, 17 dogs, eight pigs, five goats, three cats and a cow. Every horse which dies is buried on the farm and an oak is planted in remembrance.

“We make two promises to a horse when he comes here,” said Peter. “The first one is you'll never be ridden or have to work again. The second is you're going to be here forever. We bury them in what we call the ‘Field of Dreams.' “

Which would you prefer to see as an American legacy? You, too, can make a difference. Bill Heller and his many friends sure have.

“After the Finish Line” may just be the most important book you read this year. A letter to Rep. Goodlatte may be the most important one you write this year.